BY DAN TAYLOR, ENERGIZING ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITIES PROGRAM COORDINATOR, THE HUB

The holiday spirit is alive and well in Madison! The town had a full week of holiday excitement where their community spirit was a gift that kept on giving.

The events began with community group Rev Up Madison putting on a Christmas Arts and Crafts Show on December 2 at the Madison Civic Center in Boone County. The fantastic event featured local arts and crafts vendors selling their wares, just in time for the gift buying season.

Not to be outdone, “Annual Crafts With Santa” hosted by Regional Family Resource Network, was on December 4 at the Fountain of Life Worship Center. The event featured 10 free craft tables set up for kids of all ages, free photos with Santa, and a raffle for gifts.

The festive week culminated with the City of Madison, in partnership with Rev Up Madison, hosting the annual holiday parade and “Down Home Christmas” celebration on Saturday, December 9, on Main Street in downtown Madison.

The day began with breakfast with Santa at the local Hacienda restaurant, a free event for children ages 10 and under, and a minimal cost for ages 11 and up. In addition, the Boone County Library on Main Street hosted a special story time where local children were invited to create a craft along with attending the reading.

Are you on the cusp of making that change and just need a little how-to guidance?

Your community could be a part of the Create Your State Tour this March 12-16, 2018.

Create Your State tells the inspiring story of arts-driven community transformation in Princeton through the eyes of artists and cultural entrepreneurs Lori McKinney and Robert Blankenship.

What is Create Your State?

A multimedia presentation and workshop that inspires and empowers creative community revitalization and development.

A full program of immersive experiential learning and strategic planning for leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, students and other involved citizens.

A compelling exchange about how the arts, creativity and an out-of-the-box approach can establish a creative scene that reinvigorates a community.

Participants will gain:

Skills, tools, and on-the-ground contacts to ignite positive change in their community.

Access to a web portal with step-by-step toolkits, video shorts, and webinars.

Ongoing guidance from the Create Your State founders to execute projects and plant new creative capital in their community.

West Virginia towns will be given the opportunity to host the tour, explore forward-thinking possibilities, and plan meaningful creative projects that will become the catalyst for social and economic change.

BY KAYCIE STUSHEK, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NETWORK COORDINATOR, THE HUB

When many of us think about garbage, we think, out of sight, out of mind. But for cities and towns across WV, service fees collected for garbage disposal can be key to funding services like the police department, street lighting, and other necessary expenses to keep the town running – and residents safe.

This is the case for Whitesville, WV in Boone County.

Over the past few years, though, the Whitesville garbage truck started to face more and more problems.

Then, the closure of the Boone County Garbage Dump Transfer Station forced the truck to be driven all the way to Charleston to dump trash. The truck already had its fair share of problems and this extra strain was aggravating the problem of breakdowns – and missed garbage pickups.

Residents were upset that they were paying a fee for an inconsistent service. There was pressure on Whitesville to get a new garbage truck, but these vehicles cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Residents were upset that they were paying a fee for an inconsistent service.

The Town of Whitesville went to work. They spent many months making connections, asking favors, and seeking out funding resources. When Matt Lively, a town council member who had previously worked in South Charleston, got ahold of some folks he knew in that area to see if they had any surplus property – Whitesville had a breakthrough.

The City of South Charleston responded by donating a truck that had some transmission problems, but had a sound structure.

Whitesville then worked with Hutches Wrecker Services LLC, who donated their services to have the garbage truck towed to a truck shop so the transmission could be fixed. The town then collaborated with the Boone County Commission to direct funds to the town of Whitesville to fix the new garbage truck’s transmission, including a warranty, at no cost to Whitesville residents.

This story is a testament to Whitesville residents who set a goal, researched options, put themselves out there, and built relationships in order to provide for their town.

All of this was achieved through the collaboration of many community leaders and local businesses including Whitesville City Clerk Chris Prater, Town Council members David Hodges, Steven Morris, Kim Dillon, Dustin Seanze, and Matt Lively, Mayor Fred Harless, Town Recorder Susan Grubbs, City of South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens, Public Works Director Gerald Burgy, and City Manager Rick Atkinson, Hutches Wrecker Services LLC, and the Boone County Commission.

This story is a testament to Whitesville residents who set a goal, researched options, put themselves out there, and built relationships in order to provide for their town – and the story is continuing. The work has been done to find and fix up the truck, but there is more to tell in the way of getting the truck up and running on its regular route – and all of the many more people and businesses who are a part of this tremendous collaborative effort to save an essential service in Whitesville.

We will be posting an update on the truck’s progress, including recognition of the many contributors in the near future. (If you have been a part of this effort, and are not named here, please reach out to k.stushek@wvhub.org so we may salute you moving forward!)

As David Hodges put it, “We plead our case, worked hard to reach out, and people really came through and were there for us.”

I wish I had a bus ticket for every time I heard someone say this. Unless you’re Manhattan or San Francisco, it is fair to say you don’t have a parking problem. I take that back. You do have a parking problem – there’s too much of it.

Here is a quick how-to guide on dealing with those who claim your city or town lacks adequate parking.

1. Understand Perception

The easiest and most time-effective way of convincing your opposition is to have them acknowledge that the perception of parking availability is different than the reality. People come to the conclusion of parking scarcity for a good reason; many live elsewhere and only visit the city during peak periods or special events.

BY DAN TAYLOR, ENERGIZING ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITIES PROGRAM COORDINATOR, THE HUB

The Robert C. Byrd Institute in Huntington has two upcoming events that could be of interest to you and your community!

The first event is on the weekend of November 3rd through 5th, and is dubbed Start Up Weekend Huntington! This cool, new event from RCBI and Marshall University will host one of the most “hands-on” innovative events this year. The 52-hour event will allow you to experience the highs, lows, fun, and pressure of making a startup. Attendees will form teams consisting of those who specialize in varying fields, from entrepreneurship to business to coding and more! By working together, your team will use those 52 hours to turn thoughts into actions. Participants will present their final products to a panel of experienced judges, and the top 3 groups will receive prizes. To register, go here.

Next up is:

The West Virginia Ag Innovation Showcase – offered in partnership with Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College – features breakout sessions on a variety of topics as well as hands-on activities for students. The event will be held twice. Once at the National Guard Armory in Moorefield on November 2nd, and again at the Student Center at Marshall University on November 17th. Register here.

BY LORI MCKINNEY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER

In 2013, when the renaissance of our downtown was really revving up, a great community spirit emerged surrounding all the excitement. Community conversations evolved into weekly neighborhood meetings for a group of driven, creative volunteers at Dayfly Books & Collectibles, a unique and spirited independent bookstore. They gave themselves the name JumpStart.

Halloween was approaching and I remember walking to a JumpStart meeting from The RiffRaff Arts Collective. We had been talking about showing classic horror movies at the movie theater that is currently under renovation and I was excited to talk to the gang about it. As I approached the bookstore, I saw a sign that said “Trick or Treat on Mercer Street,” and I thought, how clever! A group of folks had been planning to celebrate Halloween by encouraging trick or treating downtown!

We would later learn that this was bringing back a mainstay tradition from Mercer Street’s heyday that the older generation holds fondly in their memories. The subject came up that day at JumpStart, and it turned out that everyone in that room absolutely loved Halloween.

We realized that we could join all the events being planned together and mash it all up into one big Halloween extravaganza.

Mercer Monster Mash celebrates its 5th annual this year, and it’s clear that Mercer Street is the place to be for Halloween night.

There were some seriously clever and witty creative minds in that circle, and tag lines were in abundance. Sam Franz, a strong-spoken photographer, designer and radio DJ, always seemed to be the one who came up with good names; he also has an affinity for alliteration. I’m pretty sure it was Sam that coined the name Mercer Monster Mash, and we all said Hoorah!!! That’s it! And the ball starting tumbling forward. Brian, another extremely witty member of the group, is the tag line king. He said, “Mercer Monster Mash, bringing Mercer Street Back From the Grave!” Yes, Brian. Yes!

In case you are unfamiliar with our story, Mercer Street was all but abandoned and forgotten in the decade before the renaissance, and the standing notion was folks bringing their kids downtown to Trick-or-Treat in the years before was preposterous.

But this new community spirit had awakened the dormant streets and something was really shaking! And we could all feel it.

This event was being born in that bookstore because everyone was invigorated at the thought that something monumental and revolutionary was taking place.

Brian quipped another doozy with, “Mercer Street: It’s Aliiiiiive!” Brian also invented a character, Franklin Stein, and to this day he maintains that identity online to rev up excitement for the Monster Mash. Tiffany, a sculptor and poet from New Jersey who was drawn to Princeton to be a part of the arts movement, added, how about “Mercer Monster Mash, a 2 Day Halloween Extravaganza and in little print-We reeeeeallly like Halloween.” LOL. When the subject of what movie to show came up, a few ideas were passed around from Dracula to IT, but when Miss Stefani, a talented painter from Birmingham, said “Ya’ll, it’s got to be Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Everyone gasped and yelped and screamed, Please! Please! Can it please be Rocky Horror? It was crystal clear at this point that it must be done, but I barely had any recollection of the movie I had seen once years and years ago in college. I was in for a colorful treat!

The wheels turned and the buzz built, and ideas evolved like costumed crossing guards to make the streets safe Trick-or-Treating. It was a sweet moment in time to have such a great group of volunteers invested in a project together. Sam made an awesome poster and all the volunteers spread them far & wide. We did our due diligence with press releases, outreach and social media, and the word of mouth messaging was strong with such excitement from our group. However, since Mercer Street’s reputation had been so bleak for so many years, we only expected handfuls of Trick-or-Treaters to show up.

That Halloween night at 6 o’clock, the costumed crossing guards took their places. Janis, dressed as a disheveled housewife and John dressed as Kenny Rogers, staked their post on the yellow brick road crosswalk. To our surprise, the Trick or Treaters started coming out of the woodwork! Then more, and more, and within an hour, downtown was absolutely filled with goblins and gouhls, princesses and pumpkins. We were amazed.

The paranormal society led dozens of curious folks on a ghost hunt through the old movie theater, and we held our inaugural costume contest. Rocky Horror Picture Show was the coolest scene; there were hundreds of people so appreciative of being able to enjoy this tradition that they all love so much right here in downtown Princeton and inside of the iconic movie theater that is set to become a cultural hub in our neighborhood. The whole evening was so dynamic and special, and we all knew we were witnessing the birth of a long-standing tradition.

More than just parties, these events give us all something to look forward to together, events that create colorful memories and magical moments.

Mercer Monster Mash celebrates its 5th annual this year, and it’s clear that Mercer Street is the place to be for Halloween night. Other businesses and organizations have jumped on board at this point; Princeton Public Library presents Life-Sized Candyland as part of the evening and last year, the line was wrapped all the way around the block. ResCare, a local printing company that employs special needs citizens presents ReScare Nightmare, a super spooky haunted house. Star-95, a local radio station, hosts a costume contest in The Town Square after Trick-Or-Treat, with cash prizes for adults as well as kids, which makes the whole evening super fun for people of all ages.

Trick-or-treaters

Last year, hundreds of people went all out with their costumes; it was a sight to see! Another local business, Crit Hits Comic & Games, gives out hundreds of comic books to kids. The new Holler: Contemporary Appalachian Art Gallery has an exhibit hanging called “Tombtown” and here at The RiffRaff Arts Collective, we’ll host a social called “Enchanter’s Lair.” At midnight, we’ll bring back the tradition of Rocky Horror, and after a few years of being held in an alternate venue while the theater was uninhabitable, this year it will be in The Renaissance Theater, a super exciting setting for the event.

I love establishing and carrying on traditions for our community. More than just parties, these events give us all something to look forward to together, events that create colorful memories and magical moments. I am thankful to be surrounded by creative people who love to have fun, and are willing to give their time and talents to create these experiences.

Most of the founding members of JumpStart have moved away; some graduated from college and moved on, while others have found new direction in various locations around the country. But, the traditions that they helped establish live on, and I am honored to help carry that legacy forward.

Researchers at West Virginia University are interested in knowing more about community life in West Virginia. Specifically, they are interested in learning what makes a community safe.

The Quality of Community Life in West Virginia research study is being conducted by Dr. James Nolan (principal investigator) from WVU and Robert Nicewarner (Sociology Ph.D. student) who will apply the findings to his doctoral research.* The purpose of the study is to identify social factors that may influence the life experiences of West Virginia residents.

Researchers are considering that the study’s findings will be useful to community members, government officials, and public policy makers as they work together to improve conditions for all West Virginians.

Nearly 50 years ago, on a presidential campaign swing through eastern Kentucky, Sen. Robert Kennedy promised to help a disabled coal miner build a community center in the tiny mountain town of Hemphill to give idle youth and others a place for recreation and meetings.

James Johnson used the brick-making machine and VISTA workers that Kennedy supplied to create community space and built a park and area for horseback riding.

Years later Johnson developed black lung disease and couldn’t keep the center going. After he died, his widow, Mabel, helped establish a new Hemphill Community Center in this mountainous region in the heart of Appalachia.

Now the Johnsons’ daughter, Gwen, is trying to save this piece of family legacy by opening a catering business inside the center, which saw operating funds diminish as tax revenues from the coal industry declined.

The network of local organizations that helped get Hemphill Catering up and running is part of an unusual form of grassroots economic development underway in this community, staggered by the collapse of coal.

It’s known as the Letcher County Culture Hub, a broad and growing collaboration of arts and media groups, for- and non-profit outfits, community organizations, and government agencies that help one another survive and grow…

For Butchertown residents and business owners, a newly-completed Story Avenue mural isn’t just for decoration — it’s a way to get people to stop and take notice of a neighborhood that’s been steadily transitioning for the past several years.

“Butchertown, we feel, is really turning a corner,” says Nick Johnson, president of the Butchertown Neighborhood Association. “In the past it’s been a bit of a forgotten, maybe neglected, neighborhood — a little abused and unloved. But with new development, more people want to live here and be part of it.”

This development is alluded to in the 5,000 square-foot mural, which was commissioned by JBS Louisville Pork Plant and created by artists Tara Remington and Aron Conaway. From design to completion, the project took about two years.

The mural is called “The Story on Story Avenue” and features eclectic images gleaned from historical and present-day photos of Butchertown activities, people and landmarks…

When cities make an effort to accommodate “aging in place,” they typically end up with designs that benefit younger residents too.

Last summer, Next City contributor Jessica Kourkounis asked Philadelphia seniors, “How can your city change to accommodate older residents?” Unsurprisingly, their answers reflected concerns of urbanites of all ages, covering everything from affordable housing to improved social services.

“Aging baby boomers want many of the same things as millennials. They want to be mobile and social, with easy access to bus stops, grocery stores, parks, pharmacies and hospitals.”

After all, as writer Ted McClelland reported in “The All-Ages City,” “aging baby boomers want many of the same things as millennials. They want to be mobile and social, with easy access to bus stops, grocery stores, parks, pharmacies and hospitals,” noting, “that means cities and suburbs must adapt.”

Cities do need to prepare for an older citizenry. A new report called “Ageing in Cities,” from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a membership group of 30-plus countries that focuses on the global economy, notes:

In OECD countries, the population share of those over 65 years old reached 17.8 percent in 2010, up from 7.7 percent in 1950, and is expected to climb to 25.1 percent in 2050. Cities are home to 43.2 percent of this older population.

Examining nine OECD cities specifically, from Philadelphia to Toyama, Japan, the report defines sustainable development trends and suggests policies — and points out that while there are challenges to adapting, there’s also opportunity…

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